Container with sealable body for packaging and transporting fruit and vegetable produce and method for applying a sealing film to the container

ABSTRACT

Container for the packaging and transport of horticultural products, the container being made up of a body comprising a bottom, a pair of larger walls and a pair of smaller walls also comprising on its upper edge a flange that protrudes to the outer faces of all the walls of the container forming a surface for the application of a sealing film. A method of applying a sealing film to said container is also proposed.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to stackable plastic containers for the packaging and transport of products, in particular horticultural products such as cherries, grapes, blueberries or others which generally require special conditions when they are transported on pallets for long distances, for example during export to other countries.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Usually, the plastic containers used for packing and transporting small fruits such as grapes, cherries, blueberries or others, are poorly ventilated unlike the containers generally used for harvesting, whose walls are made up of lattice surfaces. Additionally, the containers used to transport this type of products are configured with a lid and are usually stacked on pallets inside cold rooms, in order to maintain the temperature of the products.

A frequent problem in this field corresponds to the efficiency in the refrigeration of the products inside the containers which need low temperatures to delay their maturation process, however, the own configuration and design of the containers when they are stacked in pallets prevent the correct circulation of cold air that flows into the cold rooms.

To solve this problem, patent CL 52,860 proposes a container for horticultural products that allows air circulation between containers stacked on a pallet in all directions, without the need to require additional containers that support the units and hinder the air flow. In addition, its self-supporting shape allows it to be fitted with other containers inside a pallet, without impeding air circulation between the units that make up said pallet.

The container of the aforementioned patent is therefore useful for transporting fruit products that require a controlled atmosphere, such as cherries. However, said products still need to be previously arranged inside a bag prior to their packaging in the container, an operation that is carried out manually and therefore prevents fully automating the packaging process.

It is therefore a first objective of the present invention, to provide an improved container that does not require bagging the products prior to their packaging in the container allowing the packaging process to be automated.

Secondly, the container of patent CL 52,860 has a lid that has a shape that allows it to fit with the base of a container arranged on said lid allowing a tower of containers to be formed, which prevents relative displacements between them inside the pallet. This is especially necessary when it is required, for example, to safely transport empty containers to the place where they will be filled where it is necessary to ship the lids separately to facilitate the packaging operation.

It is therefore a secondary objective of the present invention, to provide a container that improves the fit of its body with an identical one in an unloaded condition and in turn the fit between lid and body in a loaded condition.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the invention, a container is proposed for the packaging and transport of horticultural products, the container being made up of a body comprising a bottom, a pair of larger walls, a pair of smaller walls and pillars in its corners. The container also comprises on its upper edge a flange that projects to the outer faces of all the container walls forming a surface for the application of a sealing film.

Advantageously, the fact that the flange protrudes all the walls of the container makes it possible to generate a surface in the form of a perimeter ridge suitable for a sealing film to be firmly arranged on it covering the entire mouth of the container in a safe manner and allowing to dispense with the product bagging. In this way, such products can be arranged directly and in an automated way in the container, avoiding the manual bagging operation that was used in the state of the art container.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the volume formed by the bottom, the walls and the pillars is hermetic, so that when the container is sealed with a film the atmosphere inside the container is favorable for the conditions that the food require allowing to dispense with an additional bagging thereof.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pillars are hollow and have an open base. On the one hand, this allows to reduce the final weight of the container and favors the stacking of containers. According to one embodiment, the pillars have a cylindrical shape which gives the container great resistance to the vertical loads to which it is subjected in a stacked configuration, for example, on a pallet during transport. However, and according to alternative embodiments of the invention, the pillars can be solid and have any shape, the walls of the container can even be joined without pillars.

According to one embodiment, the container comprises stacking projections in the upper part of its corners, which are configured to be inserted through the base of the pillars of an identical container allowing a secure fit and stacking by avoiding relative movement between containers.

According to one embodiment, the flange is rectangular in shape and its upper face is aligned with the upper face of the pillars forming a smooth and uniform surface that is favorable for the application of the film.

According to one embodiment, the pillars have corner protrusions arranged at the bottom of each of them. In addition, from the lower edge of the smaller walls a lower edge extends downwards and reaches the lower end of the pillars and forms part of them, which facilitates fitting between containers. Furthermore, in one embodiment, the pillars comprise one or more interior ribs inside them to provide greater resistance to their structure.

According to one embodiment, the container may comprise a lid to protect the products within the container. Said lid can be configured with lid perforations and can have a projection on its upper face. In addition, the lid may have smaller side edges with lid corners that project horizontally in the cross direction of the container to provide a gap between adjacent containers. Preferably, on each corner of the lid projecting outer corner edges that facilitate the fitting between containers with lid.

According to one embodiment, the lower face of the body has channels formed by recessed sections that favor the ventilation of the bottom of the container. In addition, the minor faces of the body may have a handle for handling the container.

According to an alternative embodiment of the invention, between the flange and the pillars there is a gap that forms a centering groove configured to fit with the bottom of the pillars of another identical box. Said centering groove that is formed by the separation between the flange and the pillars advantageously makes it possible to provide an engagement means for the pillars of another container, allowing the lid to be dispensed with. This would also make it possible to stack containers without lids, for example, for transport operations of empty containers to the point where they will be filled.

According to the alternative embodiment, the outer ribs are oriented perpendicular to the minor faces. Preferably each pillar comprises two parallel spaced outer ribs.

According to the alternative embodiment, the pillars have upper projections in the upper part of their outer face and under the flange. Said upper projections consist of a pair of short parallel vertical rectangular elements. The upper projections oriented perpendicular to the minor faces of the body consist of a widening of the upper part of the outer ribs. Furthermore, a gap is provided between the upper projections and the flange. Advantageously, this configuration makes it possible to resist the horizontal forces of the strapping without hindering the application of the sealing film at the same time. On the other hand, the vertical wall of the lid together with the upper projections also make it possible to resist said stresses even when there are misalignments between adjacent containers caused by defects in the pallet on which the containers are stacked.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a method is proposed to apply a sealing film in a container for the packaging and transport of horticultural products. The method comprises:

-   a) arranging a container body in a sealing machine, locating the     pillars of said container in container supports of said machine; -   b) aligning the upper face of a sealing plate of the sealing machine     with the upper face of a flange of the container body protruding the     outer faces of all the walls thereof; -   c) placing a sealing film on the faces mentioned in step b); -   d) pressing a sealing counter plate on the sealing plate, sealing     the sealing film on the upper face of the flanges and the pillars of     the container body.

According to an embodiment of the method of the invention, the container supports of the sealing machine may comprise a vertical element configured to be inserted into the pillars providing greater resistance to the flange when it is pressed by the sealing plates.

These, as well as other characteristics and advantages can be seen from the Figures described below and which are solely intended to illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention without necessarily limiting its scope of protection.

DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 shows a general view of a container of the state of the art.

FIGS. 2.1 and 3.1 show a first embodiment of the container of the present invention.

FIGS. 2.1 and 3.2 show a second embodiment of the container of the present invention.

FIGS. 4 to 7 show a third embodiment of the container of the present invention.

FIG. 8 shows a diagram of the application of a sealing film to the container of the present invention.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show the container of the invention according to a fourth embodiment.

FIGS. 11 and 12 show the container of the invention according to a fifth embodiment.

FIGS. 13 a to 13 c show diagrams of the sealing operation of the container of FIGS. 11 and 12 .

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A state of the art container is illustrated in FIG. 1 which consists of a plastic box for transporting fruit products, for example for exporting cherries. Said container is made up of a lid 100 which is arranged on a parallelepiped body 200. The lid 100 is configured with lid perforations 123 to allow cold air to enter it so that the products inside are kept at a suitable temperature during the time they are stored, such as inside a refrigeration chamber. Furthermore, the lid 100 has recesses on its upper face and a projection 120 to fit with another container arranged on it and without impeding the circulation of air through the lid perforations 123. In addition, the lid 100 protrudes from the body 200 whereby as the containers are embedded in a pallet, the larger faces and the corners 110 of the lids are the only surfaces of the lids that make contact with the adjacent containers.

On the other hand, the body 200 has pillars 230 in its corners that protrude from the smaller faces 220, so that when two containers are in contact with respect to said faces, the air can flow through the space formed between them in a vertical direction inside the pallet. This configuration allows the air to flow around the containers also in the cross direction passing through the space formed by the corners of the lid and the recesses of the minor faces 220 of the body and also through the perforations 123 in the lid. For its part, in the longitudinal direction of the containers the air flows between the larger faces through the space formed by the contact between the lateral faces of the lids.

Continuing with FIG. 1 , the major faces 210 provide in their upper portion a longitudinal recess 211 that extends over the entire length of the face including a portion of the pillars. Said recess together with a smooth surface of the upper edge 240 attempts to provide a system for the application of a sealing film over the entire upper face of the body which engages from the longitudinal recess 211 of one face, passing over the entire upper edge 240 of the body to the longitudinal recess of the opposite face. However, it has been found that this design turns out to be inefficient since the smaller and larger faces have an expanded volume, that is, they project outwards being aligned with the outer faces of the pillars, it is not possible to generate a suitable surface for the application of a sealing film by means of a sealing machine, as will be explained in relation to FIG. 6 below.

In this regard, it has been found that it is very difficult to seal the body of the prior art container with a film since the upper face of the edges that form the mouth of the body does not produce a suitable surface for this purpose, for example, because the width of the edges of the larger faces is identical to the width of the walls, making the work of the sealing machine difficult. Therefore, to avoid this problem, it is decided to dispense with the sealing film and place the fruit inside the container in bags (carried out manually), which makes the operation difficult and prevents automated tasks.

To overcome this drawback, the present invention consists of a container such as the one illustrated in FIGS. 2.1 and 3.1 , which has a bottom, larger walls 210, smaller walls 220 and pillars 230 at its corners, which together form a volume closed and hermetic inside the container.

The container has on its upper edge a rectangular flange 250 that runs around the entire contour of its mouth and that projects to the outer faces of the container walls. Preferably, the width of flange 250 is such that it is aligned with the vertical outer face of the pillars.

Preferably the pillars 230 are hollow, have an open base and have a cylindrical shape. Furthermore, and as noted in the illustrated embodiment, part of the volume of the pillars can be located inside the container. On the other hand, on the flange 250 and vertically aligned with the pillars 230 stacking projections 251 are arranged which are configured to be inserted through the base of the pillars of an identical container forming a stack of containers.

The container of the invention may not have pillars at its corners. For example and according to the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2.2 and 3.2 , the container may have reinforcing elements at its corners, such as horizontal ribs arranged in parallel between two vertical ribs located at each corner and attached to flange 250. In the same way, the stacking projections 251 may be of any shape suitable for bottom engagement with an identical container.

FIG. 4 illustrates a container according to a third embodiment. In this, the lid 100 consists of a rectangular body with major lateral edges 101, minor lateral edges 102 and upper face of lid 103, said minor lateral edges 102 being recessed in such a way that the corners of the lid 110 protrude in the cross direction of the container, allowing air to flow vertically between stacked boxes.

From the top face 103 of the lid rises a smooth protruding section 120 whose cross edges 121 are recessed to take the shape of the base of a container. On the other hand, longitudinal edges 122 are arranged near the major lateral edges 101 and have lid perforations 123 which face each other on both edges. Furthermore and according to the illustrated embodiment, on each corner of the lid 110 protrude outer corner edges 111 and inner corner edges 112 to retain the base of a container arranged on the lid 100 or for the stacking of lids with lids.

For its part, the body 200 of the container has larger faces 210, smaller faces 220 and pillars 230 at its corners that protrude from the smaller faces. Said pillars preferably have a quadrilateral cross-section with rounded edges with a smooth surface on their upper face. Furthermore, on the smaller faces 220, a handle 221 made up of a recess is configured which allows the container to be handled and transported.

As can be seen in more detail in FIG. 5 , the body 200 has a thin flange 250 on its upper edge that runs around the entire contour of the mouth of the body and protrudes from the faces of the container, similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3 . Furthermore, between said flange 250 and the corner pillars 230 a gap is configured that forms a centering groove 241 suitable to fit with the lower part of the body pillars of another box. In this regard and as seen in the lower view of the body 200 in FIG. 4 , the pillars 230 are hollow and have an open lower end so that the lower edges 231 and especially those that point towards the outside of the container are inserted in the centering grooves 241 of another container preventing movement of the bodies 200 when they are stacked without a lid.

According to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 , the pillars 230 may have inside internal ribs 232 that consist of vertical rectangular elements whose length is such that they rest against the inside corner edges 112 of a lower box lid or on the upper face of the pillars of another body in a stacked configuration without a lid. Similarly, the pillars 230 have on their outer face oriented perpendicular to the minor faces of the body, outer ribs 233 which preferably consist of a pair of parallel vertical rectangular elements. The outer ribs 233 restrict the flow of air circulating around the containers, so that when the containers are stacked on a pallet the outer ribs 233 of two facing containers form a channel between them through which the cold air circulates vertically and is contained, cooling the smaller sides of the container.

The pillars 230 also have on the upper part of their outer face and under the flange 250 upper projections 234 configured to contact the inner surface of the edges (101, 110) of the lid 100, so that they help to resist the horizontal forces produced on said edges of the lid during the strapping of the containers on a pallet. According to the illustrated embodiment, the upper projections 234 consist of a pair of short parallel vertical rectangular elements. In the case of those oriented perpendicular to the minor faces of the body, they consist of a widening of the upper part of the outer ribs 233.

As can be seen in more detail in FIG. 7 , between the upper projections 234 and the flange 250 there is a gap 235 allowing the flange to be free to adapt to the sealing counter plate (FIG. 8 ) and the sealing film to be well adhered to the flange without interruptions that could cause involuntary detachment.

Following with the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6 , the larger faces 210 are preferably smooth and have on their lower edge two recessed sections 212 projecting transversaly through the lower face of the body forming channels to allow the passage of air flow in order to cool the bottom of the box.

As described in patent CL 52,860, when the covered containers are arranged on a pallet and are facing each other on their smaller faces 220, the corners of the lid 110 make contact and allow the smaller lateral edges 102 of the lids not to collide forming an upper vertical ventilation area that allows air circulation in the vertical direction of the pallet. Likewise, when the containers face each other on their larger faces the larger lateral edges 101 of the lids come into contact and allow alignment of the lid perforations 123 to allow air circulation in the cross direction of the pallet.

On the other hand, vertical cross ventilation areas are formed by contact between the the lid corners 110 and the approach of the outer ribs 233. Similarly, vertical longitudinal ventilation areas are formed between the longitudinal faces 210 of the base product of the contact of the larger side edges 101 of the lids. Finally, lower horizontal cross-ventilation areas are formed between the surface of the projecting section 120 of the lid 100 and the larger recessed sections 212 of the base.

As can be seen in the diagram of FIG. 8 , the container of the present invention allows the application of a sealing film 300 on the flange 250 using a sealing machine composed of a hot sealing plate 310 and a sealing counter plate 320 each of which consist of a closed frame of which inner face has the shape of the outer perimeter of the container body 200 mantaining a small gap between them.

The sealing film is applied by sliding the container body 200 through the sealing counter plate 320 or by sliding the plate on the outside of the container, the latter positioning below the flange 250. Next, the sealing film is supported on the flange 250 and the hot sealing plate 310 is slid on the outside of the body until it makes contact with the sealing counter plate 320 so that the sealing film 300 and the flange 250 are compressed directly between the plates forming a sealed attachment.

For this purpose, the sealing counter plate 320 has grooves that allow the passage of the outer ribs 233 so that the flange 250 can rest on the counter plate.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show a fourth embodiment of the container of the invention, where the use of external ribs is dispensed with. For this, the smaller faces 220 are lowered further so that the pillars 230 are more exposed in the cross direction of the container. Furthermore, the continuity of the flange in the corners is generated, in this case, because the external faces of the upper end of the pillars 230 have pillar recesses 237. In turn, the pillars have corner protrusions 236 arranged in the lower part of each one of them which at the same time coincide vertically with the corners of the lid. Thus, when the corner protrusions 236 of two containers face each other a channel is formed between them through which the cold air circulates vertically and remains contained, cooling the smaller faces of the container.

Furthermore, unlike the previous embodiment and as seen in FIG. 10 , from the lower edge of the smaller walls 220 a lower ridge 222 extends downwards reaching the lower end of the pillars 230 and forming part of it. Said lower ridge is configured to make contact with the portion of the flange 250 located on the smaller walls 220 in order to fit two bodies without a lid and at the same time with the corner ridges 111 of the lid (FIG. 4 ) to allow the fit the body with the lid of another container.

A variant of the previous embodiment is illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12 . In this embodiment the flange 250 also protrudes from the faces 210, 220, however, it extends only between the pillars 230 its continuity being interrupted by the latter.

The objective of this configuration is that the sealing machine applying the sealing film on the flange 250 does not rest exclusively on the flange but on the column.

To perform the sealing operation and as seen in FIG. 13 a , the sealing machine comprises a container support 311 and a sealing plate 310, optionally a vertical element 312 being located between said container support and said sealing plate.

According to FIG. 13 b , container pillars 230 are arranged inside each container support 311, so that the optional vertical element can be arranged inside the pillar leaving the upper face of the flange 250 and the pillar 230 aligned with the upper face of the sealing plate 310.

Then and as seen in FIG. 13 c , the sealing film is placed on the aforementioned aligned faces and the assembly is raised by pressing it with the sealing counter plate 320. The latter exerts pressure on the sealing plate 310, the flanges and the optional vertical element 312 to the interior of the pillars sealing the sealing film on the upper face of the flange and the pillars of the container body. 

1. A container for packing and transporting horticultural products, the container being made up of a body (200) comprising a bottom, a pair of major walls (210),a pair of minor walls (220) and pillars (230) at its corners, CHARACTERIZED in that the container also comprises on its upper edge a flange (250) which protrudes to the outer faces of all the walls (210, 220) of the container forming a surface for the application of a sealing film.
 2. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the volume formed by the bottom and the walls (210, 220) is hermetic.
 3. (canceled)
 4. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the pillars (230) are hollow.
 5. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the pillars (230) have an open base.
 6. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises stacking projections (251) in the upper part of its corners.
 7. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the flange (250) has a rectangular shape.
 8. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the upper face of the flange (250) is aligned with the upper face of the pillars (230).
 9. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the pillars have corner protrusions (236) arranged in the lower part of each one of them.
 10. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that from the lower edge of the smaller walls (220) a lower ridge (222) extends downwards reaching the lower end of the pillars (230) and forming part of these.
 11. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises a lid (100).
 12. The container according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that the lid (100) is configured with lid perforations (123).
 13. The container according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that the lid (100) has a projection (120) on its upper face.
 14. The container according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that the lid (100) has minor side edges (102) with lid corners (110) projecting horizontally in the cross direction of the container.
 15. The container according to claim 11, CHARACTERIZED in that on each lid corner (110) protrude outer corner ridges (111).
 16. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the pillars (230) comprise inside one or more inner ribs (232).
 17. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the lower face of the body has channels formed by recessed sections.
 18. The container according to claim 1, CHARACTERIZED in that the minor faces (220) of the body have a handle (221).
 19. A method for applying a sealing film in a container for the packaging and transport of horticultural products according to claim 1,CHARACTERIZED in that it comprises: a) arranging a container body (200) in a sealing machine, said body (200) comprising a bottom, a pair of major walls (210), a pair of minor walls (220) and pillars (230) at its corners; b) aligningan upper face of a sealing plate (310) of the sealing machine with an upper face of a flange (250) of the body of the container that protrudes to outer faces of all the walls (210, 220) thereof; c) arranging a sealing film on the faces mentioned in step b); d) pressing a sealing counter plate (320) on the sealing plate (310), sealing the sealing film on the upper face of the flanges (250) and the pillars (230) of the body of the container.
 20. The method according to claim 19, CHARACTERIZED in that step a) comprises locating pillars (230) of the container in container supports (311) of the sealing machine.
 21. The method according to claim 20, CHARACTERIZED in that step a) further comprises introducing into each pillar (230) a vertical element (312) located on the container supports (311). 